I've not commissioned him myself, but it isn't unusual for artists to ask for 100% up front. It's not a great approach because it pushes all the risk onto the commissioner, but nonetheless it happens.

You could take a look in artistsbeware of course, see if he's listed there.

-BM

I actually made an identical post to the one above over at artistsbeware. It was deleted by the Admin who then said, "Unfortunately, this isn't something we really do here."

Huh?

Anyway, I hadn't looked at their official list of bad eggs. I'll go back and look for it.

I think ArtistsBeware is mostly like a logbook for disreputable artists/clients, I don't think they do much of communal feedback/investigating?

It's sad that with artists like ZombiePirate and clients like the creepy mole dude, both sides have to do so much to protect themselves :\
As an artist who also asks for 100% upfront in most cases, here are some options to try so that you can keep yourself safe!:

1. Ask who he has done commissions for lately (usernames of people, not emails, as those are often kept private), if they are on HF, drop them a quick line on their profile and see if they had any thoughts on the commission process with the artist

2. Inquire if there is a "special circumstances" 50/50 that he can do.
Ex: I usually ask for 100%, but if I am dealing with a first-time client who wants a simple piece, I offer a 50/50 option.

3. This could be potentially more expensive, but if you wanted a complicated piece and weren't too sure about the money being spent, then you can order a bust piece or something cheaper to get a feel for how the artist works, both with you and the pieces they create.

I think ArtistsBeware is mostly like a logbook for disreputable artists/clients, I don't think they do much of communal feedback/investigating?

Well, they certainly should.

NinjaKitty wrote:

1. Ask who he has done commissions for lately (usernames of people, not emails, as those are often kept private), if they are on HF, drop them a quick line on their profile and see if they had any thoughts on the commission process with the artist

He seemed to indicate most of his commissioners were not from HF, but I scoped thru his gallery one picture at a time in search of any commenters who had commissioned him or who he named. I found three, johnnyk and endofallthings had already gotten back to me with positive reviews, but Odinthor is taking fucking forever to answer my PM. I left two comments in his profile letting him know I PMed him over misterjer, but either he's ignoring me or he doesn't have his profile set for "notify me of replies". I also discovered misterjer has an artblog, which doesn't neccesarily prove anything, but it's still pretty reassuring. I'll wait a little longer for Odinthor, but I don't wanna let too much time pass by either.

He is really expensive, tho his work is probably worth it. I do agree with you on them checking and following up with the artists on here. They should have a feedback form for commissioners (as well as artists) to use, so that people can better protect themselves against certain users.

He is really expensive, tho his work is probably worth it. I do agree with you on them checking and following up with the artists on here. They should have a feedback form for commissioners (as well as artists) to use, so that people can better protect themselves against certain users.

Please look at post dates when replying to threads. This thread is four years old. It is highly likley OP has long since decided whether to get a commission from this person or not._________________✿ commission mailing list ✿